A1

A 45-year-old man from Nijkerkerveen caused chaos on the A1 highway near Voorst on Friday. According to the police, he swerved across the lanes, hitting the guardrails on both sides of the highway, and also ran across the busy road. His antics caused a traffic jam, RTL Nieuws reports.

After swerving across all lanes of the highway, the man took an exit to a petrol station. He jumped out his car and ran shouting into the gas station. When the officers arrived at the gas station, they identified the man as a suspect wanted for a theft in Deventer.

By standers escorted an elderly woman in a microcar off the A1 highway near Amsterdam on Monday evening. They took her to a nearby gas station and called the police to take her home, the police said on Twitter.

A microcar is a tiny car with a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour. Such vehicles are not allowed on Dutch highways.

The police found the body of a truck driver in his truck on the A1 highway near Deventer. The truck was parked in the emergency lane. The police believe the driver became unwell, pulled over and then died, AD reports.

The trucker was found early on Wednesday morning. The police had to close a lane on the highway to investigate, resulting in a 17 kilometer long traffic jam. The road was open again around 8:00 a.m.

A Tesla Model S in autopilot mode rear-ended a truck on the A1 highway in Bathmen, Overijssel on Tuesday, the owner of the car Blom Opleidingen confirmed to RTV Oost. According to the driver, the accident had nothing to do with the fact that the car was in autopilot. No one was injured, NU.nl reports.

An accident involving a motorcycle and at least three cars closed the A1 highway towards Amsterdam between Naarden-West and Diemen on Thursday morning. Traffic information service VID calls it a "serious accident" and expects it to cause many traffic problems.

By around 6:30 a.m. the traffic jam behind the accident was already 7 kilometers long, according to VID on Twitter. Motorists are advised to detour via Utrecht over the A27, A12 and A2. It is unclear how long the road will be closed.

Two men were arrested on the A1 in Apeldoorn on Tuesday night after the police found four automatic firearms, about 110 kilos of amphetamine and about 160 kilos of hash and hemp hidden among a shipment of flowers in their truck, the police announced.

The truck of flowers, on its way to Germany, was searched around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday. When checking the cargo area, the police noticed a large box containing what looked like a firearm among the flowers. Closer inspection showed that it was an automatic firearm.

Dutch motorists spent more time in traffic more frequently in 2016, with a 12 percent increase in traffic severity, NOS reports based on figures from the ANWB. Traffic is expected to increase further in the coming years.

According to the broadcaster, the increase in traffic severity - the length of the traffic jam times its duration - has to do with the improving economy. The increase started in 2014, when the economy started picking up after the financial crisis. In 2015 traffic severity increased by 20 percent.

Two suspects in an assault were injured on Sunday morning when they crashed their car into a tree in Baarn while fleeing from the police. Both were taken to hospital under police supervision for treatment, the police said in a statement.

From Friday, February 5th, 19 routes will have a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour, including parts of the A1, A27, A28 and A58. In May motorists will be allowed to drive 130 kilometers per hour during the evening on the entire A2 route between Amsterdam and Utrecht.

This morning's rush hour is the busiest of the year with 400 kilometers of slow moving or stationary traffic, reports the ANWB and Traffic Information Service. The traffic jams are mainly caused by collisions, slick roads and fog.

The man who was killed on the A1 on Monday morning committed suicide, concluded the police after investigating the collision. The man walked on the freeway near his car, which he parked on the emergency lane.

The provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel are willing to contribute 140 million to an accelerated widening of the A1 between Apeldoorn and Azelo. With the additional finances construction can start in 2017.